‘When the success or failure of a project depends on you, you give your all and tend to find a way around your habit at that time. Again, the culture of reward is a strong attribute to modifying or creating a habit. So, the reward is celebration, gratification, or commendation that comes from the superior, management, or client’
HABIT is a way of life that the brain is accustomed to. There is a reward for everything we do and as we get used to the routine in anticipation of the reward, it becomes a habit. They are things we do unconsciously but as we get consistent it becomes a way of life. A baby’s first attempt to take a step is usually a surprise to the parents who reacts by smiling and urging the baby on with applause. For the baby, the smile and applause are the rewards, and s/he looks forward to it every time s/he tries to take a step; then walking becomes his/her thing which becomes spontaneous. A normal thing to do.
Sometimes the reward for a coffee drinker is the aroma of the coffee and s/he is good to go. I don’t usually finish my cup of coffee, but the process of making it is a moment away from everything that bothers me, and the sipping process makes me feel fulfilled. That is the reward.
People get their groove or ease their tension in different ways and the best attempt at people management is the understanding of individual differences. For those who know, life at the agency is stressful. You live by other people’s deadlines. Whichever team you belong to, creative, strategy, client service, digital, traffic, etc., your deliverable is determined by other people’s ability or capacity to deliver at the agreed time.
This was when I started understanding the importance of individual differences in teamwork, and stress management or individual personality as it affects work delivery.
I had a colleague who stops functioning at 5:30 pm. Her brain has been programmed to believe that work ends at that time and no matter what you do, she just couldn’t comprehend. At first, I thought it was a joke but realized sooner rather than later that I have entered one chance; I have to work her out of this fix otherwise I would be doing two people’s work or recommend she is withdrawn from my team. The second option means she would be laid off.
Then I had another guy who disappear when pressured. He just disappears! Like, vamoose. I later realized he usually goes to sit in his car to smoke a stick of cigarettes. He leaves everything behind to clear his head.
There is another guy who just runs his middle finger on the mouse as if he was working but was napping. A lady who never comes to you to know if the task she was given was well executed. She just sends you the task in the mail and waits for you to call her, if you don’t then that’s your problem. She always had issues with her colleagues and superiors. She was a loner.
These are grownups with habits that they have believed to be the best because it works for them. That is the hardest part. I had to find ways to make them see that although they have the right to their life, other members of the team have become part of that life and they must make room for some adjustments, without me forcing it.
My best way out was to give them a sense of ownership. I let them own the projects/deliverables and make myself available if they have issues with another team, or 3rd party supplier, or even the client; that needs my experience to deal with. My monitoring point was the email as I was copied in all communication,
When the success or failure of a project depends on you, you give your all and tend to find a way around your habit at that time. Again, the culture of reward is a strong attribute to modifying or creating a habit. So, the reward is celebration, gratification, or commendation that comes from the superior, management, or client. And it worked! An account executive with a year of agency experience managed the Schweppes brand and the campaign won awards.
You can make people discover and improve their capabilities by giving them the stage. These people have all moved on to bigger positions at different places with an even bigger sense of responsibility.
* Olateju Ogunyomi is a Marcoms professional and behavioral analyst. She left Ogilvy Nigeria in 2020 to start her own agency. She is an APCON member and was a member of the AAAN women in Advertising committee, and the AAAN Event committee. She is currently the CEO of Aspora Nigeria Limited, a Digital Marketing, Strategy, and Consultancy agency.
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